Hair dryer



Dec. 31, 1968 w. E. SPARKS 3,418,726

HAIR DRYER Filed Dec. 19, 1966 FIG.2.

INVENTOR Wul'ron E. Sparks.

AGENT United States Patent 3,418,726 HAIR DRYER Walton E. Sparks, Lexington, Ohio, assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., :1 corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 602,883 Claims. (Cl. 34-99) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable hair dryer having an inflatable hood and a support structure therefor which enables it to be used like a salon type unit by slipping the head into and out of the. hood. When inflated the side walls of the hood stand away from each other to form a salon type hood which when collapsed packs neatly into a compact carrying case provided therefor.

This invention relates, in general, to portable hair dryers and, more particularly, to portable salon-type hair dryers.

Wholehearted acceptance of portable hair dryers dictates that they be eflicient in operation, compact in size, easy to operate and afford an optimum degree of comfort during use.

One model hair dryer currently available to the consumer is fashioned after the professional or commercial salon-type unit in that it has a rigid hood or bonnet which is supported on a stand to enable the user to sit thereunder. The hood is also utilized as a combination cover, for the power unit, and carrying case. Of all available portable hair dryrs, this type is probably the most eflicient and least objectionable from the standpoint of discomfort during use, however, it lacks compactness and bcause of its inflexibility restricts movement of the head. In other words, the head must be moved about carefully within the hood to avoid bumping of the rigidly constructed walls thereof.

The bonnet type hair dryers overcome some of the objectionable features of the portable salon-like dryer. For example, they possess the desirable features of compactness and flexible walled construction. However, they are less eflicient in operation due to poor air circulation, moreover, they cause discomfort due to impressions on the forehead and pressure exerted on the cars by the elastic band or drawstring used for snugly fitting the bonnet on the head.

From the standpoint of operation, it is desirable to have a minimum number of operations to perform in order to ready the hair dryer for use. Most portable hair dryers are cumbersome in this respect.

Accordingly, it is the general object of this invention to provide a new and improved portable hair dryer.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a new and improved bonnet fora portable hair dryer.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved bonnet type hair dryer which is compact in size yet highly eflicient in operation.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved portable hair dryer which is easy to operate.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide, in a salon-type portable hair dryer, an inflatable flexible walled hood.

Briefly, the above-cited objects are accomplished by "Ice providing a hair dryer comprising a hood made from flexible vinyl plastic or other suitable material and adapted to be inflated. The hood is attached to the cover of a relatively shallow carrying case which cover serves as a storage receptacle for the hood when not in use. This is accomplished by collapsing or folding the flexible hood into the cover. The cover is provided with one part of a support structure which is adapted to receive the free end of a stand supported by the base of the carrying case. Accordingly, the base of the carrying case which houses the power means may be placed on a table such that the user can place her head into and out of the flexible bonnet which depends like an annular curtain from the carrying case cover. Since the bonnet is inflatable, it assumes a shape similar to that of a professional salon type hair dryer.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent when considered in view of the following detailed description and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a hair dryer, in a knocked-down condition, representing the invention;

FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the hair dryer illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bonnet portion of the hair dryer shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view illustrating a support structure forming a part of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line VI--VI of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, especially FIG. 1, reference character 10 indicates generally a portable hair dryer comprising a carrying case 11 including a base.12 and a cover 13. The cover and base are provided component parts of a pair of latch or lock mechanisms 14 (only one of which is shown) for securing the cover 13 to the base 12 such that the cover can be completely detached therefrom as shown in FIG. 2.

The base 12 comprises a vertical annular wall 16 formed integrally with a generally circular bottom wall 17. A generally horizontal partition 18 serves as a closure for the base 12 in which power apparatus, not shown, is contained. The partition 18 is recessed or dished as at 19 to provide a storage area for a power cord, not shown. The partition 18 is also provided with an air intake 24 which carries an air filter 26. A strap 21 attached to the wall 16 of the base 12 provides means for readily carrying the dryer 10.

The cover 13 comprises a top wall 22 (see FIG. 4) formed integrally with a vertical annular wall 23 having a peripheral flange 27 with a reversed lip construction includin g an inwardly protruding portion 28.

The hair dryer 10 includes an integral hood structure 29 made from any suitable material, for example, flexible vinyl plastic. The hood 29 comprises a top wall structure 31 having a generally circular configuration and an annular, depending or side wall structure 32. The top wall or crown structure 31 consists of an irnperforate top wall 34 and a bottom wall 36 provided with a plurality of apertures 37. The walls 34 and 36 are joined, as by heat welding, along lines indicated at 39 (see FIG. 4) to thereby form a plurality of generally horizontal air distributing channels 41 to which air is conveyed (in a manner to be more fully described hereinafter) from substantially vertical air channels 42 formed in the annular depending wall structure 32 by heat welding along the lines indicated at 38.

The wall structure 32 consists of a generally cylindrical inner wall 43 and a generally cylindrical outer wall 44 which are joined together at the bottom edges, also by heat welding. The heat welds at 38 terminate at approximately 2 /2 from the lower edge of the wall structure 32 thereby providing an annular air duct 46 communicating with the vertical channels 42 to provide communication between a flexible coupling conduit 47 and the latter. One end of the conduit 47 is heat welded to the wall structure 32 as indicated at 48 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) while the other end is coupled to an air outlet 49 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2) provided in the partition 18 and which communicates with the power means, not shown.

The periphery of the imperforate top wall 34 is joined to the periphery of the outer wall 44 and the bottom wall 36 is joined to the inner wall 43 to form the integral bonnet structure 29 (see FIG. 4). The heat welds along the lines 39 terminate at approximately one inch from the top of the wall structure 32 and the welds along the lines 38 terminate at points remote from the peripheral edge of the top wall structure 31 thereby forming a second annular air channel 49 at the jointure of the walls 34 and 36 with the walls 44 and 43, respectively. It is this channel 49 which provides the communication between the vertical channels 42 and the horizontal air channels 41. Air flowing in the channels 41 is distributed over the top head of the user through the exhaust apertures 37. Similarly air flowing through the vertical channels 42 is distributed over the sides, front and back of the head through exhaust apertures 51 and in the inner wall 43.

A flexible cylindrical band 52 (see FIG. 4) attached in any suitable manner, as by gluing to outer wall 44 at the top thereof, is insertable in a continuous groove 53 formed between the top wall 22 and the inwardly projecting portion of the peripheral flange 27, the band 52 being captivated therein by the inwardly projecting portion 28.

In this manner the bonnet 29 is adapted to be supported for use by the cover 13 which is, in turn, carried by an extensible or telescopic stand or support structure 54 (best shown in FIG.

The support structure 54 comprises U-shaped rods 56, 57 and 58 coupled together by connecting members 59 and 60. Each of the U-shaped members 57 and 58 has a straight bight portion which is insertable in slots in the undersides of connecting members 59 and 60. The bight portion of the U-shaped rod 56 is insertable in a slot 63 (see FIG. 4) formed by a portion of the annular wall 16 and a complementary part 64 suitably secured thereto. The bight portion of the rod 56 is slightly offset from the legs thereof in order to provide the proper angle of inclination of the cover 13 and, consequently, the bonnet 29 when the cover is mounted thereon.

The legs of the U-shaped rods 56 and 57 are slidable within elongated bores 66 and 67 provided in the connecting members 59 and 60 to permit variation of the height of the bonnet. The legs of the U-shaped rod 58 are offset as indicated at 68 (see FIG. 6) and are inserted through apertures 69 in the partition 18 such that the legs of the offset segments 68 move freely therethrough for permitting the supporting structure 54 to be folded flat for storage on top of the partition 18. Each of the offset segments 68 includes two legs 71 and 72, the latter of which is provided with an outwardly projecting flange 73, in the form of a washer captivated by a screw 74, which cooperates with the underside of the partition 18 to retain the support structure in the operating position.

Since numerous changes may be made in the above described apparatus and different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a portable hair dryer, hood structure comprising: a side wall structure of generally circular cross section including a flexible outer wall and a flexible inner wall, a crown structure including a flexible top wall and a flexible bottom wall each having a generally circular shape, said top wall structure being joined to said side wall structure at one end of the latter, said top and bottom walls being joined at spaced intervals to provide air circulating channels therebetween, said inner and outer walls being joined 'at spaced intervals to provide air circulating channels therebetween, at least some of said channels in said side wall structure being in communication with some of said channels in said crown structure, means for introducing air into said channels in said side wall structure at the end thereof opposite said crown structure, said bottom and inner walls having apertures communicating with said channels for permitting air in said channels to exhaust therefrom.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, wherein the top wall is joined to said outer wall and said bottom wall is joined to said inner wall to provide an annular air circulating channel thereat.

3. Structure as specified in claim 1, wherein the air channels in said side wall structure are disposed along the longitudinal axis thereof and the jointure between said inner and outer walls terminate intermediate the ends of said side wall structure and the periphery of said crown structure to thereby provide an annular air circulating channel at the end thereof opposite said crown structure.

4. Hair drying apparatus comprising: a carrying case including a base having an air inlet and outlet and a detachable cover, an inflatable hood, said hood comprising a crown structure and a side wall structure of generally circular cross section joined thereto, each of said structures being provided with air circulating channels and exhaust apertures, said cover having a top wall and an annular wall integral therewith, means for securing said hood adjacent said crown structure to said cover, means carried by said base for supporting said cover above said base whereby said side wall structure depends therefrom for insertion and removal of the head to be dried, said hood being collapsible into said cover for storage thereof in said case and means interconnecting said air outlet means with said hood for conveying air therebetween.

5. Structure as specified in claim 4, wherein said air conveying comprising a flexible conduit and which includes means for permanently attaching said conduit to said outlet and said hood.

6. Structure as specified in claim 4, wherein said sup port means comprises relatively movable sections whereby said cover may be supported at various levels above said base.

7. Structure as specified in claim 4, wherein said support structure is adapted for movement from an inoperative position wherein it lies substantially parallel to said base to an operative position wherein it is substantially perpendicular to said base.

8. Structure as specified in claim 4, wherein said crown structure comprises a top wall and a flexible bottom wall, said top and bottom walls being joined along lines at spaced intervals to provide air circulating channels therebetween, said side wall structure including an inner wall and an outer wall joined along lines at intervals along the circumference thereof to provide air circulating channels therebetween, at least some of said side wall channels being in communication with said crown channels.

9. Structure as specified in claim 8, wherein said top wall is joined by heat welding to said outer wall and said bottom wall is joined to said inner wall to provide an annular air circulating channel thereat.

10. Structure as specified in claim 9, wherein the side 5 6 wall jointures extend along the longitudinal axis of and 3,168,382 2/1965 Chambers et al. 3499 are disposed intermediate the ends of said side wall struc- 3,267,587 8/ 1966 Niemiec et a1. 3499 ture whereby there is provided an annular air channel 3,330,048 7/1967 Roger et 1 34 99 adjacent both ends of said side wall structure.

5 FOREIGN PATENTS References Cited 730,371 3/1966 Canada.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Mauch et all J. Przmary Exammer. 3,113,848 12/1963 Clark 3499 A. D. HERRMANN, Assistant Examiner. 

